Superbowl Preview

Tom Brady and Eli Manning, quarterbacks of the New England Patriots and New York Giants, face off in the Superbowl on Sunday. 

I guess Tim Tebow didn’t pray hard enough.

Tebow and the Broncos were beaten by the Patriots in the divisional round, while the defending champion Green Bay Packers were upset by the New York Giants in the NFC divisional round.  The Giants and Patriots both went on to win in the conference finals in closely contested games and now they meet in the Super Bowl. Again.

Four years ago, these two teams played each other in Super Bowl XLII, when the Giants upset the Patriots and spoiled their perfect season. Now The 12-7 New York Giants take on the 15-3 New England Patriots in what is set to be an epic rematch.

Patriots offense: The Patriots offense starts and ends with Tom Brady. Brady had another fantastic season, finishing second in the NFL with 5,235 passing yards. He also threw 39 touchdown passes. While Brady continues to throw to Wes Welker, he has also added targets to his offense in tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, who have combined for 24 touchdowns this season. The Patriots’ running game is a work in progress. The team has been using BenJarvus Green-Ellis, also known as the “Law Firm,” who ran for 441 yards and 11 touchdowns in the regular season. The Patriots average 32 points per game, third most in the league. In the two games that the Patriots have played in this postseason, the offense has scored 68 points combined, so expect the Super Bowl to be high scoring.

Giants offense: Eli Manning could finally be better than his brother. Eli finished with 4,933 yards passing this season, the most in his career. In addition, he also threw for 29 touchdown passes. If he beats the Patriots, he will have more Super Bowl titles than his brother. Manning has been throwing to his three core of receivers. The big three consists of Victor Cruz, Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks, who collectively combined for 197 catches and 20 touchdowns. The Giants’ running game has not been as good as in past years, but they still managed to average 24 points per game.

Offensive Edge: Patriots 

Patriots defense: The Patriots defense struggled this season, as they allowed 21 points per game. The Patriots finished #31 in the league in yards per game. Andre Carter had a great season for the Patriots, with 10 sacks on the season.

Giants defense: The Giants defense allowed 25 points per game, good for #25 in the NFL. Despite all the points being scored, the Giants finished second in the NFL in sacks, and second in tackles as well. Their fantastic defensive line consisted of Osi Umenyiora, Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and Rocky Bernard. Pierre-Paul finished with 16.5 sacks in just nine games, while Umenyiora finished with nine sacks. This postseason, the Giants have sacked the opposing quarterback nine times. Brady better watch out.

Defensive Edge: Giants

The Pick: This year, the Patriots will try to avenge their loss. To do so, the Patriots must throw to their tight ends quickly and use them wisely. If the Pats can do this, they can win. If the Giants can contain Tom Brady, the Patriots will be hopeless. Eli Manning will tear apart the Patriots defense, but Brady will be throwing to Welker countless times. This will be a Super Bowl for the ages, but Brady and the Pats will pull away.

Patriots 27, Giants 24

Week 10 Sunday Night Football

Note: After intense deliberation, the writer of this blog has decided to only go in-depth for the Sunday Night football game. (in the play-offs it will be a different story).  With the exception of this week, for the remainder of the NFL season there will still be picks. But no longer in-depth analysis of every game. Just this one. Don’t worry there’s still going to be picks each week. 

The New England Patriots vs. The New York Jets. An interesting matchup. A rivalry. A game of strategic coaching. A game with high-profile receivers. One team has one of the best defenses in the NFL, while the other has the worst. One team has an all-star quarterback, while the other passer is a work in progress. 

Patriots Offense: The New England Patriots’ attack, as usual starts with Tom Brady. Brady is having yet another fantastic year for the Pats. Wes Welker. Wes Welker is a monster. 66 catches on the year, 13 more than second place, [Dolphins receiver]  Brandon Marshall. Welker also has 6 touchdowns thus far. In the running game, the Patriots have struggled to find a primary back. Rookie Stevan Ridley had a couple solid games, but has unable to gain the starting job. Kevin Faulk had a decent game, but went down with a knee injury. Danny Woodhead and BenJarvus Green-Ellis also have carried the ball for the Patriots. 

Jets Offense: Mark Sanchez has struggled for the Jets. He is ranked 20^th in passing yards. Ouch. On the receiving side, Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes have combined for about 50 catches. Another ouch. Their receptions combined are less than Welker’s receptions by himself. Shonn Greene has also been running for the Jets. He has 502 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Jets. 

Edge: Patriots 

Patriots Defense: This is an extremely sad topic. The Patriots have the worst passing defense in the NFL. It probably is one of the worst in recent years. The passing defense has contributed to the team’s recent 2 game losing streak. Even though Sanchez is not exactly an All-pro, he could torch the defense tonight.  Good news for the Patriots, the run defense is pretty top-notch. The team’s rushing defense is ranked 9^th. 

Jets Defense: The Jets’ defense is what has kept them in contention this season. The team is ranked 7^th in total yards. Another bonus, the passing defense is fantastic. They are ranked 4^th in yards per game. The secondary should give Tom Brady a hard time. The rushing defense is a work in progress, but is satisfactory enough to get by. 

Edge: Jets 

The Pick: Both of these teams have their strengths and weaknesses. The best offense in the league, against one of the top defenses. An okay offense, against the league’s worst defense. This game should be close. The game’s result comes down to the Patriots defense and Mark Sanchez. If the Patriots defense can hold up, the Patriots should rout the Jets. If it can’t, the Patriots will slowly drop out of contention. If Sanchez does his job, the Jets will remain in the game for a while. If he doesn’t, it could be a long game. I’m betting that the Pats’ defense holds up and snaps the team’s losing streak. 

Patriots 31- Jets 20

Confessions of a Patriots Fan

Tom Brady and the Patriots, slowly falling from the top teams in football.

Whenever someone asks me about my team, I will defend the team in the best way possible.  No matter what sport. Even if the team is not doing well, or the player is facing something. It is my team, and I was given a choice to support it, and have to support it until the very end.  However, one must say everything about their team. Not just the team’s triumphs, but its struggles as well. A person who can admit all of these facts about their team is a true fan. 

Tom Brady is no longer the best quarterback in the NFL. That being said, he is still in the top-tier of quarterbacks. Just not the best quarterback. The Patriots are a great team. They are just not the greatest team anymore. These are facts that every Patriots fan should realize. 

Yes, yes it’s true. A Patriots fan acknowledging that his favorite team is not the premier team in football. I remember when I first became a Patriots fan. I was 5-6 at the time, and it was when the Patriots were in the Superbowl. The first football game I watched was Superbowl XXXVI, when Adam Vinateri kicked the game winning field goal to beat the Rams 20-17. Ever since then, I have watched Tom Brady win two other Superbowl games, and have an (almost) perfect season. 

After the win against the Rams, the Pats took a year off, and then proceeded to win 2 straight Superbowl championships. Following the win against the Eagles 2 years later,  the Patriots have yet to win another championship. They came close, losing to the Giants in the Superbowl because of a catch some guy made who isn’t in the NFL anymore.  They have failed to win a play-off game since the 2007 season. 

So why then does everyone think the team is a play-off contender? Because of Thomas Edward Brady. Brady is a fantastic quarterback, who has the ability to lead a team. He is surrounded with fantastic receivers, and the coach of the decade, Bill Belichick. A fantastic team on paper, but on the field...

The truth is, the team is not as good as it used to be. Sure the Patriots had Wes Welker, Randy Moss, Adalius Thomas, and other notable players at one point. But when a team has countless stars, and have already won 3 championships in the past 4 years; they are expected of winning everything. When this team was formed, a new Patriots dynasty was expected to have started. It lasted about a season and a half, before Moss was released, and the team couldn’t win in the play-offs.

The glory days of the Patriots are behind them. Vinateri is gone. Deion Branch is no longer the Superbowl MVP winning receiver, and sadly, Brady is getting old.  Every football fan has the team as one of their picks to win the Superbowl each year, but the team can’t do it.  It’s almost as if the team is cursed. They cannot seem to win, anymore. In fact, the Patriots lost to the Bills this year for the first time since 2003. In the current season, the Patriots are in a 2 game losing streak that could extend to 3 games this week. 

Patriots fans, we must come to the realization that our team needs to be improved. We need to continue cheering our hearts out for victories, because our team isn’t as good as it used to be. The Patriots need our support We need to still root for our team, and be loyal. And never give up. Go Patriots, and let’s beat the Jets on Sunday!